Napoli are hoping to reach an agreement on a £50m deal to sign Manchester United and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 20. (Corriere dello Sport, in Italian)
West Ham have had a £57m bid for Jhon Duran rejected by Aston Villa, who are determined not to sell the 21-year-old Colombia forward valued at £80m during the current transfer window. (Telegraph - subscription required)
Aston Villa are unhappy with the timing of West Ham's bid as it comes before they play Monaco in their penultimate match of this season's Champions League group phase. (Guardian)
Chelsea are considering a move for Juventus and Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 24, having held talks with the Italian club about selling Portugal defender Renato Veiga, 21, to them. (Times - subscription required)
Manchester United are in talks to sign left-back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce, with the 20-year-old Danish international a target to fill a void in Ruben Amorim's squad. (Athletic - subscription required)
United have also looked at Wolves and Algeria left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, 23, and Crystal Palace and England left-back Tyrick Mitchell, 25, with Paris-St Germain and Portugal full-back Nuno Mendes, 22, an unviable option this transfer window. (ESPN)
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave the club in the summer, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso the favourite to replace the Italian. (Ondacero - in Spanish)
Liverpool have a fresh contract wrangle on their hands, with France defender Ibrahima Konate, 25, yet to sign a new deal with the club despite having been offered one. (Telegraph - subscription required)
Manchester City and England midfielder Jack Grealish, 29, is being tracked by Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund, with his future at the Etihad increasingly uncertain. (Sun)
Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, says he has not spoken to Manchester City about a new contract but "something will happen" with his current deal running out in the summer. (Manchester Evening News)
Tottenham are considering a move for Ipswich Town's English striker Liam Delap, 21, this month but could face competition from Chelsea. (Teamtalk)
Liverpool are not considering accepting an offer for England Under-21 midfielder Harvey Elliott, 21, in January or the summer window, despite his lack of first-team football. (Football Insider)
Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez will remain at Bournemouth despite interest from Manchester United, but the 21-year-old will likely move during the summer transfer window. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Germany)
Tottenham are facing a struggle to land Slovakia centre-back Milan Skriniar, 29, this month amid strong competition from Galatasaray and Paris St-Germain's loan situation. (TBR Football)
AC Milan are considering loan moves for Manchester United's Danish international forward Rasmus Hojlund, 21, and their Dutch international striker Joshua Zirkzee, 23. (ESPN)
Juventus have held discussions with Udinese over a move for 23-year-old Danish centre-back Thomas Kristensen, who is also a target for Tottenham and Leicester City. (Mail)
Sheffield United have agreed a £10m deal with Leicester City to sign striker Tom Cannon after he was recalled from a loan spell with Stoke City. (Sky Sports)
The Blades have also agreed personal terms with Hertha Berlin defender Jonjoe Kenny and will sign the 27-year-old from the Bundesliga club for around £800k. (TeamTalk)
Hull City have agreed a fee of around £1.8m to sign defensive midfielder Eliot Matazo from French Ligue 1 side Monaco. (L'Equipe)
Derby County centre-back Eiran Cashin is the subject of renewed interest from Brighton & Hove Albion, who tried to sign the 23-year-old last year and have now made a new bid for him. (Football Insider)
The Rams have also joined the race with Swansea City to take Aston Villa's Lamare Bogarde on loan until the end of the season. (London World)
Middlesbrough are hoping to complete the loan signing of Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers this week, although the deal is still awaiting final approval from the Cherries. (Talksport)
Boro are also close to sealing a deal for Hull City left-back Ryan Giles. (Talksport)
Coventry City, QPR, Millwall and Stoke are battling for the signature of Crystal Palace's Jeffrey Schlupp. (Football Insider)
Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford is still on Newcastle United's radar after they offered £16m for the 22-year-old in June 2024 but the Premier League side are more likely to try and sign Trafford next summer. (The Athletic - subscription required)
Lincoln City defender Paudie O'Connor has been offered a new long-term deal by the Imps after interest from a number of Championship clubs. (Football Insider)
Peterborough United may send young talents George Nevett and Donay O'Brien-Brady out on loan this month. (Peterborough Telegraph)
Wycombe Wanderers have outbid League One rivals Blackpool to agree a deal for Chesterfield winger James Berry. (Football Insider)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Jack Grealish is being tracked by two of Europe's biggest clubs, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund - with his future at Manchester City increasingly uncertain.
Marcus Rashford has made it known he bears no grudge towards Ruben Amorim.
Monaco are considering a loan move for Rashford, with the rich Ligue 1 club willing to pay most if not all of his massive weekly wage.
Brighton's Evan Ferguson is a potential loan target for Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho has launched a wine business to go alongside managing Fenerbahce.
Carlo Ancelotti will quit Real Madrid with Xabi Alonso ready to replace him, according to reports.
THE INDEPENDENT
Real Betis want to take Antony on loan from Manchester United but there is still a considerable distance in what proportion of the Brazilian's wages the Spanish club will pay.
Manchester City are considering re-signing Douglas Luiz from Juventus as they look to the Brazil midfielder to cover for the absence of the injured Rodri.
DAILY MAIL
Wolves have made a rival £10m offer for Aston Villa's Diego Carlos as his on-off move to Fenerbahce stalled again.
Napoli and Chelsea are expected to make renewed approaches for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.
AC Milan expect Kyle Walker in Italy on Tuesday ahead of formalising his move from Manchester City.
Martin Dubravka will stay at Newcastle beyond January after positive talks with the club, but Miguel Almiron is set to join Atlanta United.
Juventus have held discussions over a move for Tottenham and Leicester target Thomas Kristensen.
Lewis Hamilton's most trusted aid Angela Cullen is back at his side after two years.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Manchester City are exploring a potential loan deal for Douglas Luiz as the Premier League champions continue to weigh up their midfield options this month.
Manchester United are in talks to sign Denmark left-back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce.
West Ham have agreed a deal with Chelsea to reunite new head coach Graham Potter with his trusted recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is still to sign an Anfield contract extension despite being offered a new deal.
THE ATHLETIC
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has begun contacting players ahead of naming his first squad since taking charge of the national team.
Chelsea are set to sign teenage defender Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg.
Manchester United will showcase a global health charity as its front-of-shirt sponsor for their Premier League match against West Ham United later this season.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino was in attendance for Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington D.C. on Monday.
THE GUARDIAN
Daniel Levy intends to give Ange Postecoglou the opportunity to revive Tottenham's fortunes, with the under-pressure manager set to remain in charge for this week's matches against Hoffenheim in the Europa League and Leicester in the Premier League, although the situation is precarious.
THE TIMES
Chelsea are considering a move for the Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic after they held talks to offload their defender, Renato Veiga, to the Italian club.
Aston Villa have valued Jhon Durán at more than £80m after turning down two approaches from West Ham United in the past week.
DAILY MIRROR
Xabi Alonso has brushed off speculation that he will become Real Madrid's next manager at the end of the season.
SCOTTISH SUN
Hearts hope to announce the signing of Austrian defender Michael Steinwender.
Trabzonspor are reportedly eyeing another former Rangers man in Glen Kamara to join John Lundstram and Borna Barisic in Turkey.
DAILY RECORD
Ianis Hagi is willing to sit down with Rangers and discuss a new deal to extend his stay at Ibrox.
Rangers kid Alex Lowry is closing in on a move to Wycombe Wanderers.
Rangers have reportedly been dealt a blow in their pursuit of NK Osijek's Marko Soldo - with transfer rivals Dinamo Zagreb set to get a boost to their spending power.
Guardian Rumour mill
Simon Burnton
Patrick Dorgu’s future could be settled today, with Manchester United’s interest in the 20-year-old full-back-or-winger-depending-on-which-paper-you-read due to solidify sometime on Tuesday afternoon, when the club will hold talks with Lecce’s director of football, Pantaleo Corvino, in Milan. The side sitting 17th in Serie A want €40m for the Dane but will accept €35m plus a few bonuses, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, for a left-footed player who could fill the wing-back role on either flank for Ruben Amorim’s troubled team.
The complication comes from Napoli, who have identified Dorgu as their first-choice fall-back option should their pursuit of United’s Alejandro Garnacho come to nought. Napoli have now submitted an offer, inclusive of all bonuses, of £50m for Garnacho but will pick up the phone to Corvino should they not hear something positive on Tuesday. United appear to have a healthy list of fall-back full-back targets of their own, in the shape of (deep breath) Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes, Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, the Wolves left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri and Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell.
Dusan Vlahovic might be Juventus’s top scorer, but he has only 18 months remaining on his contract, which has a pay rise built in for its final year, and had a post-match argument with a group of the club’s fans last month. All of that means he could be available this month, with Chelsea looking most likely to swoop. The London club have the advantage of already being in discussions with Juventus over the potential sale of Renato Veiga, and seem to have decided that given Nicolas Jackson’s inconsistency they could do with another striker, especially with Christopher Nkunku Bayern-bound.
Back to Manchester United, then, and just as a club finally volunteers to pay most of his wages if he joins them on loan – Monaco preparing to dig deeper than their rivals Borussia Dortmund – Marcus Rashford has decided he no longer wants to leave, the Sun reporting that “the dumped attacker now wants to start against Rangers in Thursday’s Europa League clash”. The Athletic meanwhile dismisses Monégasque speculation by insisting that “Dortmund believe they represent the only realistic avenue for him away from United”.
Having “angrily” snubbed West Ham’s £57m offer for Jhon Durán (“nowhere near a price Villa would reluctantly consider”, reports the Telegraph, suggesting that figure is £80m), Aston Villa have offered around £17m plus add-ons for Sevilla’s Loïc Badé, but the Spanish club value the 24-year-old at £25m. Villa hope to raise £10m of that by selling Diego Carlos to Fenerbahce – though there seems some confusion about that deal, with the Mail saying it “was back in the balance last night”, the Athletic that a verbal agreement has been reached – but then spend £6m of that on the Levante right-back Andrés García.
Not going anywhere, meanwhile, is Martin Dubravka, who had gone as far as saying goodbye to friends and starting to pack, but has now put off his move to the Saudi side Al-Shabab until at least the summer after Newcastle decided to keep hold of him.
The Athletic
West Ham set to reunite Chelsea recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay with Graham Potter
By Roshane Thomas
West Ham United are closing in on an agreement with Chelsea to reunite Kyle Macaulay with newly-appointed head coach Graham Potter as a recruitment analyst.
The 38-year-old joined Potter at Chelsea when he was appointed manager in September 2022. But Macaulay remained at Stamford Bridge when Potter was sacked less than seven months later. A deal for Macaulay to join is not done yet but is moving in the right direction and an announcement could come as soon as this week.
Macaulay previously worked under Potter at Ostersunds, Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion. Macaulay’s appointment will not directly impact technical director Tim Steidten’s role. He was asked to stay away from the training ground under previous manager Julen Lopetegui, but has returned to Rush Green following Potter’s appointment.
Potter’s mandate is to secure the club’s Premier League status for another season. West Ham are in the market for a midfielder and forward, and Macaulay could play a role in identifying potential arrivals. An area of concern is defence, with West Ham keeping one clean sheet in their last 11 matches. Potter has not ruled out the possibility of augmenting his defensive options following last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.
“We’ve got a few challenges to fix, but that’s normally why you end up at a football club in January — because there’s things to do,” he said. “We’ve got some options there internally. And then, of course, we’re always looking for options to help the team.
“JC (Todibo) is going to be a while before he comes back, so there’s no immediate solution there. It’s a calf strain and lower-limb issue. He’s going to be a bit of time yet. We have to look for what we have.”
Chelsea are insistent that head of global goalkeeping Ben Roberts, who joined the club from Brighton at the same time as Potter and Macaulay, is remaining at Stamford Bridge.
Pompey News
Portsmouth face anxious wait as West Ham consider January recall option
West Ham are considering recalling Freddie Potts from his loan stay at Pompey, according to a report.
Respected Hammers transfer insider, ExWHUEmployee, has revealed via his Patreon account that the Premier League outfit could bring the midfielder back to the London Stadium should they fail to land their January transfer targets.
West Ham are reportedly currently looking at Chelsea duo Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, as well as Ezechiel Banzuzi from OH Leuven. But it’s claimed if they cannot get those signings over the line, they could look to bring Potts back to compete for a first-team place and bring an early end to his Fratton Park stint.
The Hammers are currently 14th in the top-flight table, with new boss Graham Potter losing two of his three games in charge.
Potts joined Pompey towards the end of August on a season-long loan deal. The 21-year-old has had a consistent run in the Blues team this term, playing in 22 matches in all competitions.
Bar the 3-0 defeat to Bristol City just after Christmas, the Hammers Academy graduate has started 20 of the 23 league games he has been available for this term. He’s been a reliable figure in Pompey’s engine room and has partnered with Andre Dozzell in the centre of the park for a large part of the campaign.
At the start of January, John Mousinho was confident West Ham wouldn't recall Potts from his loan. The Premier League outfit were said to be happy with how his stay had gone at Fratton Park - although that was before they sacked Julen Lopetegui earlier this month.
‘We want to keep progressing with that (his development), keep pushing him on,’ Mousinho told The News.
‘Keep making sure he does everything he possibly can to push himself to become a Premier League player at the back end of the season when he goes back to West Ham
‘At the minute, he’s giving himself every chance and, as far as we are concerned, we’ve got him for the season. They are really pleased with everything that’s gone on here.
‘West Ham have had one of those seasons, I guess slightly similar to us, they’ve been a bit up and down and had a couple of significant defeats, but I don’t see them recalling him (in January).
C&H
West Ham Eye Giant Dutch Striker as Derisory Duran Bid Fails
Following West Ham’s failed bid for Jhon Duran, another target has emerged. Emanuel Emegha, a Dutch Under 21 striker playing for Strasbourg with 7 goals in 13 appearances, and 2 assists.
The 6ft 5” forward began his professional career at Sparta Rotterdam in 2020 before moving to Royal Antwerp. A transfer to Sturm Graz followed in 2022 where he scored 9 goals in 31 games. This alerted Strasbourg in 2023 who paid €13m to secure him on a five year contract.
West Ham have lodged an enquiry, however any deal may be difficult to finalise before the end of the transfer window. Blueco who own Chelsea and Strasbourg are reportedly not yet ready to cash in, and a move to Stamford Bridge is more likely in the summer.
However, with Kyle Macaulay joining West Ham from Chelsea to help with transfers, this link may develop. There are also some connections between both clubs as their President is ex West Ham player Marc Keller and the Head Coach is Liam Rosenior who is the son of former West Ham forward Leroy Rosenior.
There are a number of other targets that West Ham are also monitoring including Swiss International, Breel Ombolo at Monaco, and Genk forward, Tolu Arokodare.
For central midfield, West Ham haven’t given up on signing Ezechiel Banzuzi, yet do have the option to terminate Freddie Potts loan spell at Portsmouth which is a possibility should we not secure a player in his position.